Venkatesh Prasad, a former pacer for India, retaliated against England for failing to follow the fundamental protocols at home, expressing the hope that Shoaib Bashir visa would be approved while he was in the United Arab Emirates.
At Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday, January 25, the first Test match between India and England began. One of the talking points leading up to the first Test match was that promising off-spinner Shoaib Bashir of Somerset was denied an India visa because of his Pakistani ancestry.
When British nationals apply for visas, India is supposed to handle them “fairly,” according to the British government. After an 11-day preparatory camp in Abu Dhabi, the England team arrived in India on Sunday, January 21. However, Bashir needed to go back to the UK to finish the required paperwork. India was held accountable for the visa delay by the English media and the England and Wales Cricket Board.
“In the UK, his visa needed to be stamped. Thinking it would be stamped in a third nation, the ECB sent Shoaib Bashir to the United Arab Emirates. It’s traditional English practice to not follow basic protocols, make assumptions, and then complain about injustice.
On his official ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) handle, Venkatesh Prasad remarked, “If anyone is at fault, it is the ECB.”
His visa needed to be stamped in the UK. The ECB sent Shoaib Bashir to the UAE, thinking it would be stamped in a third country.
Not following basic procedures , assuming things and then crying foul is an old English way.
If anyone, it is the ECB at fault. https://t.co/Fw8tG0XsD8— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) January 24, 2024
Later on in the day, Bashir succeeded in obtaining his visa, enabling him to connect with his teammates in India and maybe participate in the next four games of the series. The child will be arriving in India over the weekend, the ECB announced.
“Shoaib Bashir is scheduled to go to India this weekend to join the team, having officially obtained his visa. We’re relieved that the matter has now been settled,” the ECB wrote on its X account.
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